Revolutions, Coups, and Regrets/ U.S. Intervention in Latin America

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo HOHONU 2019 Vol. 17 in general was complex and changed rapidly as events Revolutions, Coups, and unfolded. The revolution is perceived in the modern eye Regrets: as simplistic and the motivations obvious. However, that viewpoint reveals a lack of understanding of the Cuban U.S. Intervention in Latin Revolution and the subsequent political quagmire. What follows will display this Cuban quagmire in all of its America during the Cold War. complexities. Paul Edward Fontenot The government of Fulgencio Batista emerged From the Monroe Doctrine to the construction of in Cuba after a coup in 1952. Only seven years later the Panama Canal, the United States has been involved however, revolutionary forces under Fidel Castro in many of the most important events in Latin America, overthrew the authoritarian and oppressive Batista and the history of Latin America is closely tied to that of regime. The insurgency against Batista developed a the United States. With the relation that Latin America reputation inside and outside of Cuba as freedom currently shares with the U.S. in mind, one would not fighters resisted the repressive Batista regime. Batista’s find it shocking that the United States intervened all allies declined as the insurgency gained more ground over Latin America during the Cold War. The United and defeat loomed. Even the United States had all but States rigged the elections in numerous Latin American abandoned him by 1958. The Eisenhower administration countries, assassinated political figures in others, and did not want to openly support Castro nor openly even toppled governments all in the name of preventing condemn Batista, but they knew a losing horse when the spread of Communism or protecting their economic they saw one. As journalist Richard Gott explains, interests. There are many examples of U.S. intercession “The man who once admired Franklin Roosevelt, and in Latin America during this period in history. However, kept a bust of Abraham Lincoln on his desk, had been none provided an opportunity quite like that of Cuba deserted by his American friends.”1 The U.S. continued and Chile. The Cuban Revolution and the Chilean Coup to supply Batista’s regime with armaments but never offer contrasting strategies of U.S. intervention during nearly enough to stop the guerrillas.2 Perhaps this was the Cold War. because Eisenhower saw Batista’s impending defeat, or Certainly not all of these intercessions were because Eisenhower knew the Cuban army would not identical. When one is asked about U.S. intervention in be able to handle an influx of more advanced weaponry. Latin America, one’s mind probably conjures up images Nevertheless, Batista did not receive American help. of the Cuban revolution and the infamous “Bay of Pigs” Batista had flown off of the island of Cuba and into exile. incident. Many Cubans consider April 17, 1961, the It was now Fidel Castro’s turn to govern. Batista’s fall day of the Bay of Pigs invasion, a day of triumph as the did not surprise anyone paying attention to the Cuban Cuban government successfully fended off the attempted Revolutionary War. What was surprising was the way in U.S. overthrow. The Castro Regime took power after a which the Revolutionary forces organized the country. civil war on the island. The United States had initially The Eisenhower Administration thought the country supported the Cuban Rebels as Castro had not yet would descend into chaos as it had done after the made clear his Communist leanings. However, despite Revolution of 1933. With many of the guerrilla factions attempts by the U.S. to prevent it or to sabotage it after disagreeing politically and economically, a fracture the fact, Castro’s revolution in Cuba was successful and in loyalty and a subsequent civil war was not entirely even survives today. unreasonable. Castro, perhaps seeing an event like this In Chile on the other hand, the United States was coming, endorsed Manuel Urrutia Lleo for president more successful. Not only was the United States able to and Jose Miro Cardona as prime minister, both of them look back at its experience with Cuba, but the situation moderate, conservative politicians. This seemed to calm in Chile in the early 1970s was fundamentally different the fears of American politicians and conservative Cuban than Cuba during its revolutionary period as well. The thinkers as it showed that perhaps Castro was willing to U.S. funded opposition parties in Chile to prevent work with people of farther right leaning ideologies. socialist candidate Salvador Allende from winning the It is important to remember that the Cuban presidency. Allende came to power anyway after a free Revolutionaries did not intend to oppose American and fair democratic election. Despite this, opposition interests. International correspondent Julia Sweig from the right in Chile still existed and resented his left- claimed, “Initially, the revolution was not an anti- leaning policies. Allende would be deposed just three American event… Of all the anti-Batista political years after his inauguration through a military coup, parties, insurgent groups, underground militia, middle- supported by Chilean opposition parties and funded by and working class activists, high school and university the United States. students, doctors, lawyers, architects, and other Cuban Revolutions professionals, the only group with an expressively The story of the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the Bay 1 of Pigs Operation offer examples where U.S. intervention Richard Gott, Cuba: A New History, (New Haven, NY, Yale University Press, 2004), 164 in Latin American affairs went awry. The whole situation 2 Gott, An New History, 164. 13 University of Hawai‘i at Hilo HOHONU 2019 Vol. 17 anti-American line was the local communist party.”3 In to be simple reform measures but soon took the form fact, many of the young Cuban revolutionaries looked up of vocal Marxist-Leninist policies. Land began to be to the United States as an example to follow for its low expropriated en masse, and the expropriations were levels of political corruption and prosperous economy. targeted at foreign businesses. The new Agrarian Reform From this perspective, it would seem that the Eisenhower Law stated that no one person or company could own Administration was in the optimum position to have a over 1,000 acres of Cuban land unless they were sugar strong diplomatic relationship with the new Cuban or tobacco planters or cattle ranchers; in those cases the Government. maximum was 3,333 acres.7 With the new Cuban land On the other hand, the assumption that the reforms the United States government started to feel that power would be evenly distributed in the provisional its economic interests were under threat. government may not have been entirely accurate. Latin U.S. companies had been well-established on the American historian Louis A. Perez Jr. believes that the island for a long time previous. With this new restriction, real power lay not in the provisional government, but those companies lost 2.5 million acres of land to the in Castro’s Revolutionary forces. The Cuban lower Cuban government.8 The United States government class had come to think of the Castro brothers and Che began to worry due to the Popular Socialist Party of Guevara (his real name was Ernesto Guevara) as modern- Cuba gaining more traction in Cuban Politics and day heroes. As a result, when push came to shove, the socialists were appointed to more positions in the Cuban majority of the people were more likely to back the government. The U.S. then hinted that it might very Revolutionaries than the politicians of the provisional well reduce sugar imports in retaliation.9 Events began government.4 The support from the people gave the to unfold quite rapidly with the U.S. enacting measures revolutionary forces the ability to leave the message of to halt the influence of the Castro regime in Cuba and “La Revolución” vague and ambiguous, simply saying the Cuban government in turn began expropriating that it would be different from what it was before. American businesses and developing closer ties with the Along with the fervor of the revolution came the zeal Soviet Union and China.10 Eventually, the United States of nationalism. This also increased Castro’s power in the made good on its threats and halted purchases of Cuban realm of Cuban politics. It became increasingly difficult sugar exports. The Soviets were all too happy to fill this to challenge Castro or the ideals of his cohorts. For many, void, which they had never expected that they would be the idea of being Cuban and the revolution were one able to do.11 in the same, and if any dissent were to emerge, as it By the end of 1960, it became increasingly apparent would later do, Castro supporters (known as “Fidelistas”) to the United States that their relationship with Castro would accuse the dissenters of being anti-revolutionary was beyond salvaging and that the U.S. could not accept and therefore treasonous.5 It was not long before Urrutia Castro’s relationship with the Soviet Union. None of and Miro resigned as a result of the restrictive political the political or economic attempts to dislodge Castro’s atmosphere, and Castro’s opposition in Cuba steadily regime had worked, though it was not for lack of trying. shrunk.6 No longer could the United States see the The U.S. conducted small paramilitary operations against possibility of Cuba descending into chaos, and whatever the expropriated industrial areas. The support of rebel plans the Eisenhower Administration were to consider groups against Castro took place, but these groups were concerning Cuba would have to include Fidel Castro.

Load more